The Race For Seasons Yet To Come
by RyokoNoKoibito
Summary: From the pages of Sonic comes a time-bending tale of our favorite Blue Blur. When a cataclysm threatens Mobius' existence, Sonic will have to relive a dark time in his past and discover his grim future to stop this disaster from annihilating his home.
1. Prologue: Sleepless Night & One: Picnic

In the year 3237, a planet strikingly resembling the blue Earth revolves around its sun in a complete 365-day cycle joined by eight other planets and a decimated moon that circles the planet itself. On this world lives a hero, a legend, who is quite possibly the fastest living creature. This hero sleeps quietly tonight, shiny red sneakers adorned with a single white strap and gold buckle nestled carelessly at the foot of his bed. Any other night would yield the serene silence of a sweet sleep, maybe even a fleeting dream or two about the hero's beloved princess. However, on this night and other nights in the recent past, haunting visions of mistakes of the past, ambitions of the present, and a catastrophic future plague his mind, each scene traveling faster than light, just as he himself can do. The hero bolts upright in his bed; sweat beading down a thick mane of cobalt blue quills to pale cheeks. He rubs his eyes, their emerald hues glazed over from distress and lack of sleep. And on this sleepless night, the green-eyed blue hedgehog slipped swift feet into the red sneakers at his bedside. Gazing thoughtfully into a picture upon his nightstand, he let out a soft restless sigh and rose to his feet, admiring the beauty of the auburn-tressed princess in the photograph. And so, the hedgehog silently slipped out of the cabin where he dwelled and ran through the forest at remarkable velocities, stopping at a lake of the purest water, a hint of shining gold emanating from the bottom. The hero sat down, overwhelmed by the dreams that plagued him moments before waking so distressfully. On a night where the sound of running water and rustling leaves soothed a tired, weary soul, Sonic the Hedgehog waited for the dawn.  
  
Sonic the Hedgehog:  
The Race for Seasons Still To Come  
  
Sonic's dawn came and went, the lights piercing through partly cloudy skies over Knothole Village bringing seemingly celestial illumination to the tree houses and the wondrous castle that serves as home for the monarchs of Sonic's people, King Maximillian Acorn and his wife and daughter. Sonic's return from the lake was long and thought out as opposed to the hurried pace at which he ventured to the water's edge the previous night. The brief trip to and from the lake was much like a much longer exodus. Sonic the Hedgehog traveled over 800,000 light years within one single miraculous year. The expedition comes after saving the world from a vicious alien race, bent on annihilating the entire planet. Their deadliest weapon was seemingly unstoppable until Sonic dared challenge his own mortality. The hero seemingly sacrificed himself just to stop the Xorda's last resort. On the incredible journey, Sonic was worshipped as a god, engaged in fierce combat with his own dark side, and took part in a great race against beings from all across the galaxy. When he finally returned, things in Knothole evolved into a kingdom that has seen hardships, advances, and unfortunately a war waged by Sonic's long-time arch-nemesis Robotnik and his Eggman Empire. Now Sonic's life has begun anew, and the time for getting caught up with loved ones was just as due as his return. The clouds faded away over Castle Acorn as Sonic indulged himself in the high-speeds of a sprint from his private little hutch to the castle gates. To the guards atop the twin watchtowers, there was no doubt of the swift blue blur approaching the homestead. The order to open the gates was carried out immediately, and Sonic slowed down enough to enjoy the entrance. Towards him walked Rosie, the princess' kind nanny from when she was a young girl long before the dark times of Robotnik. The hero smiled with recognition and greeted her with enthusiasm.  
"Have no fear...I is here!" Sonic declared with thumbs up from his gloved hand, the comedic display of excitement of the new day bringing an amused smile upon Rosie's face. She embraced him tightly, joyful now that she herself had at last seen for herself that the hero had miraculously came back home. Sonic offered a light chuckle and said simply, "Well, I'm glad to see you too, Rosie." She patted him on the head with that same gentle smile to welcome him back home. So as they slowly traversed the grand castle towards the princess' chambers, Rosie struck up the conversation.  
"I thought Sir Charles had surely gone mad. I didn't honestly believe that you had indeed come back after the battle against those Xorda. I started considering that it was true when I saw Princess Sally's demeanor over the past few days. She was so much happier. Over the past year she would spend hours upon hours at that statue in your likeness. That first month, I found her there some mornings. She would spend the night there, camped out in a seemingly endless vigil. Then you came back, and her world became bright again." She shook her head in slight amazement as they stopped at the double doors of Princess Sally's bedroom, flanked by two of His Majesty's Secret Service. "In light of all of this...it is so wonderful to see you here today, alive and well, Sonic." She hugged him once more and left him there in front of the guarded doors. Between Sonic and the two guards, countless silent glances were exchanged, until Sonic casually walked closer to the doors and crossed his arms, tapping a sneaker to the pristine marble tiling of the corridor.  
"'Sup?" The bemused hedgehog nonchalantly greeted the two stalwart bodyguards at the door. Stone serious...He thought. Their faces did not move, only a massive knuckle which rose up from the guard on the right side of the door, rapping against it firmly as if laying out a red carpet for the incredible booming voice which resonated through the doors to the one occupant of the chamber. Princess Sally Acorn took a brush to her long auburn hair, freshening up as the door knocked. She tugged at her baby- blue vest and ran to the doors, opening them for Sonic in order to smother him with an affectionate hug. Sweeping her up in his arms he kissed her softly on the lips. "Ready for lunch, Darlin'?"  
"Way past ready, Sonic." Sally smiled and held on tightly to her beloved hedgehog as he raced out of Castle Acorn towards their favorite picnic spot, a small enclosure overlooking the Lake of Rings. Other picnic locations would have been ridden with ravenous photographers from the Knothole Press, all looking for hot gossip and the next news story of the "royal couple". However, this spot in particular was perfectly silent, broken only by the rustling of the blanket and the sounds of Sonic munching on multiple chili dogs in the same amount of time the princess would eat just one. Seventeen chili dogs later, most of which were eaten by the bottomless pit that was Sonic the Hedgehog, Sally looked deeply into his eyes, saw them to be dry, not as full of life as she was used to. The slight change concerned her.  
"You look tired," Sally said simply, her hand sliding over his to take it. "I've never seen you like this before. Is something bothering you, Sweetie?" Her ocean-blue eyes reflected back to him the heavy concern she had for him. "You're having those dreams again aren't you?" He had talked to her before about the recurring nightmares that invaded him during those past nights. Only now did she see how the sleepless nights were affecting the young hedgehog. She was officially worried, and even said so.  
"They're getting longer," Sonic answered, "And feeling more real each time. The weird thing is...It's not repeating each night. They continue where they left off, and it's always the same: Memories of the problems almost three years ago...visions of a horrible disastrous future...and somehow they both tie in with the present time. It's even happened once when I was awake...I'd zone out and see all this stuff happening in the past and the future. It's so confusing, Sal. My head hurts just thinkin' about it." Sonic offered a weak smile and rubbed his head jokingly. She leaned up and kissed him softly on his brow and gave in to curiosity.  
"What do you see anyway? What's so horrible and catastrophic about our future? Even if it's the worst thing in the world to happen to us, it's only a bad dream. Dreams can't hurt us." She smiled gently at him, caressing his gloved hand. "Tell me." Sonic sighed with disappointment, but chose to indulge her with the torrid details.  
"Mobius is dying, Sally," He said sadly, baleful green eyes focused upon her. "You and I rule over a kingdom suffering from the devastating side effects of a weapon that I ordered built and used. Knux is trying to put his island back together. I've yet to see Tails or Robotnik. You're always so sad, as if nothing can be said or done to make you smile. So many of our friends and family are absent from everything I'm looking at, possibly dead or worse. It's like..." Sonic grimaced, hesitant to complete the sentence. Sally gently shook him, wanting to hear the rest.  
"Like what, Sonic?" She edged closer to him. With some resolve, Sonic looked at her with tired green eyes that almost pierced Sally's soul, sending shivers down her spine alongside the end of the sentence,  
"It's like we're the last of a dying race. Our future, Sal, is grim. It wakes me up every night, and it keeps me from falling back asleep. Like I said, the dreams get more real, crisper, more horrifying every night. I'm scared, Sally Acorn. I feel like the next turn of events in my dreams for tonight will somehow involve losing you again. Just like I lost you before...I want them to go away, but I doubt they will. Somehow...I just know they won't." In an attempt to comfort himself, he cradled his princess in his arms, where she felt a tear fall from his cheek to hers.  
They were tears that hadn't fallen for a long time.  
"They're just dreams...bad dreams. They'll go away, and everything will be okay again. And you will never lose me, Sonic the Hedgehog. I promise." She ended her brief vow with a passionate kiss to her disconcerted lover, tickling his nose with her auburn hair making him laugh. It was a sound she was relieved to hear from him. He gazed into her eyes and smiled lightly.  
"As long as I have you Sally, I'll always be prepared for..."  
  
"...What's going down?!!" Sonic struggled against the shackles St. John had slapped on him. Narrow black beady eyes homed in on the skunk that was chief officer of the king's Secret Service. St. John's cohorts dragged Sonic away by the chain binding his hands together, Red sneakers complete with white stripe hesitant to move in conjunction with the forced dragging led by Geoffrey St. John of His Majesty's Secret Service, whose rage nearly blinded his sense of duty and the regulations for apprehending criminals by the laws of the Acorn Kingdom.  
"You are, Mate, for murdering the Princess!" St. John growled, his exclamation frightening Sonic into submitting to the pulling of the chain. His best friend looked on, his two tails like dead weight on the wooden floor of Dr. Quentin Horatio Quack's hospital inside Knothole Village. He couldn't believe what he was hearing, just as distraught as the unsuspecting hedgehog, who returned from a failed mission at the worst possible time. The dreary overcast inside the hospital only increased with Sonic's arrest. Tails' usual unwavering trust for his long-time friend and role model was disturbed, leaving the poor boy speechless. Words couldn't express the disappointment and the immense sadness that cursed that hospital that night. 


	2. Two: Brief Glimpse Forward

Sonic forced himself to fall asleep in the empty jail cell that night. Tolerating the despondent odors and the constant midnight draft, his body drained from the nightmares and St. John's ferocious interrogation, the sudden onset of the reality that he was to be tried and sentenced by King Acorn the next day for apparently killing Princess Sally. It was a concept that couldn't be more unrealistic. However, the evidence was all there. The other Freedom Fighters saw Sonic take out a small knife and cut the rope the heroic princess climbed. They watched her plunge several stories, fall through an awning, and hit the cold concrete with the most sickening thud. The entire time Dr. Quack endeavored to save the princess' life, Sonic was absent from her side. His arrival was too little too late. And when the time came to succumb to horrible sleep, he caved. His last conscious thought consisted of his idea that if Sally wasn't waking up tomorrow morning, he shouldn't either.  
  
The dreams came again. He dreamt of a future where he was the hero all over again, and Sally was so beautifully nestled in his arms. It started so pleasant. But then, the darkness came. Sonic strained to see across the blackened clouds. Her Sword of Acorns was outstretched in his gloved hand amidst the drama of a massive struggle against machines. Then visions of brilliant purple light, and lastly, disaster raced through the young hedgehog's head. Sonic shuffled into consciousness, the shackles chiming with the dull sound of captivity. Sunbeams flared through the iron bars in the window of Sonic's jail cell, and a tray of messy unappetizing food outside the bars. Sonic was disgusted and gracious at once as he devoured the slop St. John's men served him. He figured it was his last meal.   
  
"On your feet, prisoner," came the order rich in Australian accent from none other than the captor and warden himself, Geoffrey St. John. Sonic glared at the skunk outside those thick iron bars and stood up, covered in dirt, ragged and cold from the draft of the night. The brief glimmer of false hope hit Sonic when the cell doors opened. It was quickly broken by the forceful shove by St. John's men. The hedgehog captive fumbled forward to be violently dragged away by the shackles' chain. "I hope His Highness sends you off to be executed like the dog that you are," St. John growled.  
  
"Oh, woof-woof, St. John," Sonic smarted back. His retort was met with a slap to the back of his head by one of St. John's men. He grumbled at the two guards, muttered less than stellar remarks about St. John himself. The blinding daylight left him helpless to what was in front of him, the only sensory input was the regal accent that Sonic recognized as the king.  
  
His judge.  
  
His jury.  
  
His executioner.  
  
"Bring out the prisoner!" The king bellowed. He stood tall upon a tree stump, positioned to hand the fate of Sonic the Hedgehog to him. His judgment would be greatly influenced by who was murdered that night and the prisoner himself. He watched the ragged fifteen-year-old hedgehog was dragged amidst the circle of a mob. Sonic was certain it was a lynching. King Acorn looked down into the weary eyes of Sonic the prisoner, identifying him as two opposite people: the murderer and the hero.  
  
"Sonic the Hedgehog, you are charged with murder and treason. What do you have to say for yourself?..."  
  
"...Sonic?" Sally shook her dearest hedgehog gently by his arm. He had fallen prey to the dreams again, the dreams of the mistakes of the past. When the hedgehog got his bearings straight, he saw a beautiful auburn-haired ghost. "Sweetie, you're freaking me out! Stop that." He looked up at her with those brilliant green eyes, struggling to hold back tears. When the reality set in, he grabbed her and locked her in a tight embrace. Words escaped his lips, almost unheard and hidden under soft sobs and a heavy cloud of somber distress.  
  
"I thought I lost you, Sally...I thought I lost you..." Drained of tears and life, Sonic the Hedgehog fell into a horrid sleep in his princess' arms. Sally closed her eyes, holding him close. The last thing his consciousness heard was simple reassurance,

"You will never lose me, Sonic...""...You will never lose me." The weary hedgehog king said softly to his wife, tugging on the cerulean uniform that he was clad in. Today would be the day that the monarch of the new kingdom would address his subjects about the end of the war, and the rising of new problems for the state of Knothole. King Sonic the Hedgehog softly kissed Queen Sally on the cheek and stepped towards the mantle in Castle Acorn's Great Hall. Atop the mantle rested Sally's family heirloom, the Sword of Acorns. Wielded by her father, then her brother, it was the chain that was linked to her and Sonic's joint rule over the Royal Kingdom of Knothole. Sonic reached for the sword, and then stopped. He stared at the sword, lost in thought. Then he gazed at the castle, and how much darker it was than he had imagined it, and again at Sally who raised a puzzled eyebrow at her confused husband.  
  
"Sonic? What is it? Is something wrong, dearest?" Sally asked, unsure of her husband's problem. His response was in the form of the most peculiar question, as he stared blankly at Sally.  
  
"Sally, what's the date? I need to know the exact date," He said, his hands shaking lightly, clearly distraught. He had such a strange sensation course through him, as if he at last lost touch between his dreams and the reality that he was living. He counted on his fingers, hoping that some reasoning could help him make heads or tails of how he was feeling at the moment. Never before had he felt so old.   
  
"The year is 3270," she answered uncertainly, puzzled as to why her husband would ask such a mundane question before setting out to make his first appearance as King since he had ordered the eradication of New Megaopolis. Sally observed her husband, and was worried by his reaction to her response.  
  
"Sally...that can't be right. Just a second ago...I could've sworn we were...Yes! That's it! I remember it now, clear as crystal. We were on a picnic. We had sat down at the Lake of Rings, and I was...I was talking about my dreams, and how I saw all this happening." He seemed to be very pleased that he had managed to remember so much, as if these twilight years in his life had left him with a bad ability to recall past events. Sally grimaced, worried about her husband.  
  
"Sweetie, there is no Lake of Rings, remember? Robotnik completely annihilated it at the first battle of the Great Forest. We haven't been on a picnic since before Sonia and Manik were born." She felt his forehead and his cheek, theorizing that something made him ill, but felt nothing as far as a feverish temperature. This left her very confused, but the scene he described seemed familiar, as if it were a very distant memory.  
  
"Sally...if that's true, then why does it seem like it just happened? Why do I feel like nothing here seems right. These clothes, the Sword of Acorns on the mantle, you talking about kids, none of it seems normal. This is...a dream, but I'm awake. What's happening to me, Sal?" He looked down at his trembling hands, gloved as usual. He found a mirror in the hall and stared at his reflection, and saw the image of an aged hedgehog, dressed so strangely.  
  
Dressed like a king.  
  
Sonic did not feel like King Sonic. He felt like he was in shackles, or tired from his nightmares.  
  
This nightmare was real, though. Sonic could not fathom it.  
  
"Sonic, let's go see Dr. Quack. I'm sure he'll be able to see if anything is wrong with you," Sally suggested, taking her husband by his arm, leading him towards the hospital. Sonic complied, sure that the familiar feeling of having Sally on his arm was something that did feel right.  
  
His Royal Highness was on his back, slowing conveyed towards a device used to conduct scans of the brain. Dr. Jonathan Quack oversaw the procedure. King Sonic entered the white metal cavern of the medical imaging machine. He almost mistook it for a Roboticizer. He heard a voice coming from the speaker. He presumed it was Quack's.   
  
"Sire, the scan should take only five minutes," said the young doctor. He looked at the Queen and continued, "If there's some sort of abnormality, it'll show up in the scan. This device is very finely tuned. I must ask though, has the king been taking any medications? Has he had a sufficient diet and sleep? He seems perfectly coherent for his age."  
  
"Sonic just doesn't seem like himself, as if it's finally hitting him that he's not as young as he used to be. He brings up things that happened twenty-five years ago, and he remembers it clearly. However, he has little to no memory of the entire Second Great War." She turned around, looking at the immense cylinder that was trying to ascertain her husband's troubles medically. She observed him twitch a little. The twitch became a struggle to escape. Sonic shouted to be let out of the machine, his voice booming with a combination of anger and fear. Sally ran to him grabbing his leg and slowly pulling him out of the device. Sonic collapsed to the floor, gasping for air, reaching blindly as if he was relieved to feel open spaces. The entire situation lasted 3 minutes, nowhere near enough time to complete the scan. The doctor suggested another scan, but Sonic's response was immediate.  
  
"That infernal machine can go to hell. Damn its eyes!" Sonic shouted. Sally supported him up to his feet while he continued to catch his breath. When he achieved proper footing he stormed out of the hospital, Sally struggling to keep up. She finally did so, but only because the aged hedgehog was stopped dead in his tracks by a purple hole that rested in mid-air without shape or depth. Queen Sally panicked, ordering a small-scale evacuation and isolation for the mysterious hole. Her cries to Sonic to back away from it were unheard by the curious hedgehog who reached out......And grabbed the Power Ring that came out of the Lake of Rings. The glimmering torus gave off a brilliant holy light, famous for granting the wish of those who had pure hearts who wished hard enough. He passed it off to the Princess sitting before him, the glow it emitted reaching back beyond Sally's auburn hair as it waved freely in the wind creating this halo that left the young hedgehog speechless. Sonic smiled for the first time in days, able to shake off those waking dreams to enjoy the romantic getaway for the couple. Sally smiled and took Sonic's gloved hand, squeezing it just a little.  
  
"There's the hedgehog I used to know. Feeling better?" She looked down at the ring, a little relieved at the solace it seemed to bring her significant other.   
  
Relieved that her wish came true. However, Princess Sally was unnerved by another question that she inevitably pondered:  
  
How long would Sonic's peace of mind last? 


End file.
